You want to relax. Well this is the place for you. Bring a good book and read while you sit on the beach and you will be in paradise. There is also plenty of activities and entertainment.
The food is very good. The Italian and Oriental restaurants do not have many meal choices. The bread in the Italian restaurant was stale but the food we ordered was very good. The food at the buffet was very good and consisted of a variety of choices.
The entertainment is excellent. The shows in the evening are excellent. The staff is very talented. They were great actors, comedians, and amazing dancers. The staff did an excellent job at providing the guess with entertaining activities.
Some of the things that I would write on my cons list are:
The rooms are small( although we found it comfortable for three people).
The rooms are clean but could use some upgrades. Hotel also need new towels.
Drinks are watered down.
The Discotheque was not fun. DJ did not vary his music selections.
Suggestions:
Bring your own beach towels.
Bring swim shoes. Can't swim in the ocean without them.
It is common for your luggage to arrive late, so pack your swim suit in your carry on. This way you can enjoy the beach and pool while you wait for your luggage to arrive.
Overall, my husband, teenage daughter, and I had a great vacation.

Negatives
-Too far from everything - costs $15USD one way into town (taxi)...hotel should provide shuttle service
-Time share sales team
-Wood oven pizza only offered after 11pm
-coffee is cold and/or flavorless
-no frills resort....no gardens or "wow" factor

I would only recommend this hotel if someone was concerned about price. IF we ever returned to Freeport, we would stay closer to Town and the marketplace area. Do visit the "Sands Bar" off the resort on Fortuna Beach

this hotel nis the most disgustinhg place i've ever seen or stayed at in nmy life. We have been on at least 50 vacations including cruises, and many resort vacations. Never in my life have i stayed at a place that is more depressing and dirty and old and horrible. The food was horrible the service was horrible, the room was dirty, broken tv no remote. Money should be refunded.....Andrea and Tom Rafael

you should destroy this place

Rooms:
dirty and old tv didn't work, no remote, shower had no pressure, twels are old and dingy

Restaurants and Bars:
specialty restaurants were awful they ran out of certain foods. Buffet food was awful.

Arrival: November 23, 2009 to November 30, 2009
I went with a party of 18 people, 10 adults and 9 kids. For the price we paid ($2,800 round trip/all inclusive) it was well worth it. Next time, I'll pay more for a better all around trip.

Rooms:
The rooms were good, couldn't find any "regular" coffee to save our life but they were good. Housekeepers were great, we had a lot of fun with them.

Restaurants and Bars:
Buffet food was mediocre if not bad. The late nite pizza was the one of the BEST thin crust pizzas I've ever had. The restaurants were awful as far as food. The bars were good. I only drink Captain Morgan and they didn't carry it so I actually paid a taxi driver $30 to go off property a grab me a bottle. Drinks were good, lots of juice drinks and only "well" liquor but not bad.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The grounds were ok. Any island is beautiful and this is no exception. The staff were great all over. Bartenders, lifeguards, guest services, taxi drivers. Anything you want? You got it. The vendors were atrocious though, drive you absolutely crazy trying to sell you their "wares".

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We went to Port LaCuya to shop. Oh boy, the market was horrible with the vendors screaming at you to buy their stuff but the bars were fantastic!!!!

Other Comments:
I don't know if I'd go there again. I've never been to an island so this was my first. I'll definitely pay more money to bet a better overall trip. I'd rate this a definite 2.5 stars.

Oh, where do I start? I booked this trip through RCI. I've used RCI numerous times and have never stayed at a bad place. After booking the trip I started reading the reviews and noticed the large number of bad ones. Knowing that people can complain about anything and can be overly picky I ignored them. I mean what can be so bad, you're in The Bahamas right??? Wrong!!

We pulled up to the hotel and noticed right away that it was extremely run down. After check in we went to our room and it was horrible. Yes, it's dated, but that's not a big deal to me. However, cleanliness is important to me. The floor was dirty, the beds horrible and the bathroom was nasty. Let's just say that we both wore flip flops in the shower. After dealing with the room we decided to make the best of it. Unfortunately, the spring breakers made this difficult. I knew it would be spring break, but I didn't know they'd be so rude or out of control. These kids were rude to the staff, yelling constant profanity in front of children, overtaking the hot tub by loading it up with fifty people and doing belly flops, and so on. The next day we went right into town and booked a room at Pelican Bay for the second half of the week since that was all we could afford. Thankfully we got the unused portion back because we payed at check in. And I knew it was worth moving when the night before we left some young man threw a plastic cup right at our table as we were trying to enjoy a drink. I know some may say that the spring breakers are not the hotel's fault, but I saw no effort on the part of the hotel to try to control these kids, even at 5am when they were having parties on the balconies of their rooms and blaring music. Unacceptable. By the way, Pelican Bay is a lovely place and highly recommended.

We enjoyed this resort very much, with little to dislike. The resort could use a little updating in the rooms, there isn't much storage space. The weather in January was all over the place, warm and humid one day, cold and windy the next. Temps ranged from high 70s to low 60s. We had one total washout rainy day. A windbreaker raincoat with hood is a good idea.
The food was very good, especially the deserts and the breads.
The staff was good, especially the entertainment and the exercise classes. All were very friendly. The bartenders and wait staff were not as friendly, even kind of cold. The drinks were amply filled with the alcohol of your choice, almost too much.
The pool was too cold to use but the Jacuzzi was large and warm.
The Ocean was cold too but ok. The beach was great with plenty of chairs as January is not too crowded.
We would go back again but probably during a warmer time.

Let me preface this by saying that my girlfriend is 29, I'm 34. I've traveled frequently and stayed in 2 star hotels and 5 star hotels; I typically stay in Marriotts, Hiltons and Westins. We enjoy the nicer things in life, but also love to be laid back and aren't overly high maintenance.
Look, if you want 5 star luxury, don't go to the Bahamas, or at least not Freeport. If you want to chill out and enjoy beaches and drinks, with some nightlife as well, go to the Bahamas. We were there over New Year's Eve for 3 nights; first time I'd been to Freeport (I've been to Nassau/Paradise Island, and she's been to Jamaica).

GETTING THERE:
we took the Cloud X Fastboat Ferry from where I live, W.P. Beach, FL over to Lucaya/Freeport. First time I had done that; costs $150 and takes a bit too long, especially when you throw in the customs wait. (4-5 hours total time)
We got completely screwed on the cab ride to the Viva from the Port; the porter at the Port or the driver lied. It SHOULD cost you no more than $29 total for 2 people, and could cost less.

LOCATION:
the Viva is a 20 minute cab ride from the Port, and about 15 from the airport. The Viva is on the west side of the island, somewhat isolated. It's west of the Westin, Sheraton, etc. by a ways. As you may find, it's almost impossible to locate a good map of Grand Bahama Island/Lucaya/Freeport.

CHECK IN/OUT:
easy, no problems. We stayed a few hours after we checked out and still ate and drank for free. Make sure you turn in your towel cards when you leave or you'll lose $.

ROOM:
we had a room down by the beach, facing the beach. There are a number of different buildings; each building has various segments which are interconnected. The rooms were acceptable, with tile floors. The walls are very thin - you can hear things you may or may not wish to! Overall, the quality of the buildings is similar to your typical Holiday Inn. (Excluding big city, downtown Holiday Inns such as in Boston, NY, etc.) One day our toilet, for no apparent reason (or so my girlfriend swears!) overflowed. We moved next door. I was so relaxed by that time I didn't really even care.

MAIN DINING HALL:
the Viva's main dining hall is similar to a cafeteria or family diner. It's buffet style, was clean, and has reasonable hours. Food was acceptable, as was the variety. The windows and doors are typically open, so don't go there if a bird flying in to steal a french fry will freak you out. We thought it was kind of funny (this was infrequent and they weren't on tables, etc.).

RESTAURANTS:
there are 2 restaurants there, an Italian and an Asian. We only ate at the Italian place; the food took too long and was served very simply but was actually quite good. You have to get reservations early on the morning of the same night you wish to dine at either.

BEACH:
the beach is great, and there are plenty of chairs. The weather when we were there was 75 during the day and 60 or so at night . . . in other words, perfect. Not a drop of rain. There is a beach bar with food.

DRINKS:
The 32 oz insulated drink containers we brought worked fabulously, as did the mini-cooler we had to place them in as we sat on the beach hour after hour after hour. There is another indoor bar area near the pool. Both bars have pre-made frozen drinks and your usual mixed drink opportunities. Beer is available, but a poor selection.

ACTIVITIES:
one day we engaged in some archery, which was kind of cool. They have a little playhouse (mostly kid stuff) and a small work-out facility, with generally old equipment. They had ocean kayaks (used one of those), windsurfers and a Hobie Cat or two. Bocci ball and volleyball were available, as were some old beach cruiser type bikes. We took a ride east and went to a different beach one day.

NIGHTLIFE:
there is a club at the Viva, which was playing some funky music the night we were there for a few minutes. We had just returned from Port Lucaya (by the Westin) on NYE, so we were already flying high. There are some decent bars and casinos by Port Lucaya, although service is really slow if it's crowded. It was NYE, and we had a blast. Taxi from Viva was about $17, if I remember correctly.

MONEY:
their dollars and US dollars are equivalent and are used interchangeably. I didn't even use a credit card while there.

CELL PHONES:
don't work without special adaptation.

STAFF:
generally friendly. As expected, some more friendly than others. An interesting mixture of islanders and Europeans, especially Italians.

OTHER GUESTS:
a mixture of Americans, Canadians and Europeans, with a few Asians. Everyone seemed friendly. Some families, some couples, a few single folks.

OVERALL:
certainly worth the $. You usually get what you pay for, and we didn't want to pay too ridiculous an amount for this trip, which was planned a little bit late for a NYE trip. This was our first all inclusive, and it's amazing how good it feels, psychologically, even if you don't end up saving that much. The experience was good enough that I recommend it for most people.
If you have questions, feel free to email me at Jamnole@aol.com

We were there Jan. 12-18, 2005. It was very cold time of year to be there. It was 80 the first day and so windy!! The day we left it was only 63 and raining. It rained 3 out of the 6 days we were there. We did catch some rays the first day! Be sure to bring at least a 30 sun block! My husband didnít think he needed it because it felt chilly and he got BURNT! We never went in the pool or the ocean ,TOO cold. There were a FEW brave souls, but not us! Along with your sun block be sure to bring

The ocean view is AWESOME!

We have stayed at the resort 3 times now (we bought a trail time share in July 2003 ). Not much has changed! It is still a pretty run down place. We had hoped when Wyndham bought in last year that they would have done some serious updating. Perhaps the Hurricane set them back! Viva is an okay place if you can get past the hotel rooms. They are dirty and need updating.

The animators (activity staff) are a lot of fun. All the staff is very friendly and courteous. Viva is an all inclusive. There is always something to eat and drink. If the dining room is closed they put snacks at the bar. The food is pretty good. Lots of variety.
We like to go here because it is low key and safe and we don't have a problem bringing our kids. There is good Security staff. Always patrolling the beach and property. The Grounds staff always cleaning up the areas. When it is HOT you really don't spend a lot of time in your room!! We will go back again, But not in Dec. - Feb. It is their slow time (which was nice ) but I like it hot ! I gave them a pretty good review when I left, I just think they need to teach house keeping how to clean!

Another note is the Freeport airport is SO nice! Non threatening and New and Clean!! Staff is very Friendly. You will have no problems finding a ride to your hotel!
I feel so comfortable at the airport and at Viva , that I would have no problem traveling with out my husband and going with a group of ladies! ( I would not say that about Mexico!!!!)

Arrival:
Was great. Everyone was very friendly. Stay away from the people trying to sell you deals when you first get there. They will talk your head off. We were really excited with how pretty it was.

Rooms:
The room was good. We had everything we needed. We didnt stay in the room that much though.

Restaurants and Bars:
The food was really good. If anyone went hungary it was there own fault. It was like you could eat and drink all day long if you wanted. No problems there.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Loved the beach and pool!

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
I did the trapeze lessons. That was really fun. Didnt care much for the snokeling. We went to the national park. It was really pretty and the beach there was kind of secluded. I even tanned with my top off.

Other Comments:
DO NOT RENT FROM THE CAR RENTAL PLACE UP FRONT!!!! They jacked me $350.00! I did call them as soon as i got home and realized what they did. They said they would refund the money. Dont know if they will. But now my account is all screwed up and i am in the hole. They lady in front of the Viva Wyndum assured me that the money would now come out of my account if we left them our card number unless something happened to the car. SHE LIED!!!!!! Do not trust those people!!!!